Halo: Isolation
by BenFossett
Summary: A team of super soldiers are left behind after a mission goes terribly wrong.


CHAPTER ONE-AT ANY COST

1784 HOURS, APRIL 22, 2552 (MILITARY CALENDAR) \

COLEDEN CITY, FUMIROLE

The battlefield was engulfed in a storm of lead and plasma. The only audible sounds were the gunfire, explosions and screams of the falling soldiers. On one side of the city, a Marine Sergeant barked orders to his men. On the other, a Sangheili General growled to the stocky Unggoy, who then stumbled into battle, only to get blown up. Banshee fliers soared overhead towards the hovering Falcons. They spat a glowing green bolt towards one of the UNSC Aircraft. The pilot tried to jump out, but found his leg burnt off and his craft racing towards the ground before erupting into a cloud of red fire and smoke. On the ground, Warthogs bumped along the rocky terrain. The gunners angled their machine turrets to fire at the Covenant Ghosts. Bits of purple metal flaked off as the speedy vehicles took heavy damaged and eventually exploded.

Captain John 'Alpha' Haverson gathered his squad, DAGGER Team, into a circle. The armoured warriors shuffled about to hear what he had to say. "Listen up, DAGGER. Covenant Outpost is just a few miles south of our current position. NOBLE Team is counting on us to activate that Gravity Lift. We need to find a pair of Warthogs and make our way to the outpost. Move out!"

The soldiers walked out of the half-destroyed building onto the street, where Marines were pushing the ruthless aliens back. Sangheili Elites gargled in tongues that the humans could not understand as the Covenant soldiers fell victim to lead and shrapnel.

"Keep up the good work, Men." Said Alpha. He led his team around the area to see Noble One finishing off an Elite.

Commander Carter-A259, or Noble One, was an experienced soldier. Training since the age of eleven, he was one of the older SPARTAN-IIIs. He was also one of the last SPARTAN-IIIs. Before the fatal Operation: PROETHEUS began, which resulted in the deaths of nearly all of his fellow SPARTANs, Carter became the leader of NOBLE Team, a Special Operations team of SPARTAN Supersoldiers, with Lieutenant Commander Kat-320 as his second in command. NOBLE Team had been through a lot, losing many members and having them replaced with new ones. Carter and Kat were the only surviving members of the original team.

Now NOBLE had been assigned their toughest mission yet. Going into Coleden City was dangerous enough, but destroying a Covenant Cruiser was suicide. He was just waiting for the 'other team', DAGGER. He looked around. He could barely see Jun-A266 surveying the area with his sniper rifle at the top of a building. To his left he could see Emile-A239 engaging Elites in Close Quarters Combat, slicing through their skin with his beloved Kukri knife, which he kept attached to his shoulder. Carter sprinted past Emile to see Jorge-052 clearing out Grunts and Jackals using his heavy machine gun. The big guy was getting old, but he was a damn good soldier. Suddenly, Carter heard the growl of an Ultra Elite, and saw one heading towards him. The Elite tackled Carter to the ground and roared. Its mandibles spread out, showing Carter its razor-sharp teeth. Carter punched the alien in the mouth and climbed to his feet. The Elite got up, dazed. It looked around. Carter saw his chance, and jabbed his knife into the Elite's back. It tried to twist and turn but the knife quickly sliced straight through its back. The Elite fell to the ground, its white armour covered in purple blood. Carter put his knife away as DAGGER Team jogged up to meet him.

"You must be Carter." Said Alpha, holding out his hand. Carter shook it.

"Yes, I am Carter. My squad are in a pretty rough position at the moment. A quick exit is preferable. Do you have the location of the Outpost?"

"We do." Alpha handed the Spartan the coordinates. Carter examined them carefully.

"Shouldn't be too hard. I'll radio in for a couple of Warthogs. NOBLE TWO has the bomb and the rest of NOBLE are covering her." Carter turned away quickly and radioed for the vehicles. He turned around. "The vehicles are on their way. Don't fail me, DAGGER." Haverson nodded and faced the rest of his team. "DAGGER Two and Three, you're with me. DAGGER Four, Five and Six, you take the other 'Hog."

"Yes, sir!" replied the squad in unison. It wasn't long before the Warthogs arrived. The team took them and left the area.

Carter watched them leave. "Kat...where is she?"

Kat sprinted through the barrage of lead and plasma. Dirt pounded her faceplate as it was kicked into the air. In front of her, soldiers of both UNSC and Covenant fell. The Covenant Battlecruiser's Gravity Lift was near. Bomb in one hand, Magnum in the other, Kat fired a few rounds. She saw Emile, who waved her on before continuing the fight. Two Falcons glided overhead. Kat looked down at her Medium Fusion Destructive Device, or MFDD, and armed it. A timer for 5 minutes appeared in her Heads Up Display. An Elite Ultra tried to attack her, but Jun quickly sniped it. Kat spotted a Skirmisher and fired a few shots to put it down. To her right she saw Carter assassinating another Elite Ultra, and then talking to a team that was wearing unusual variants of MJOLNIR Armour. She kept running and jumped over a piece of debris, before a Banshee swooped above her. It fired from its fuel rod gun. The shot exploded next to Kat, sending her cart wheeling through the air onto the hard ground. She lay there for a second and tried to get up. For some reason, her right arm wasn't moving. She tilted her head back and waited for death to come for her.

The two Warthogs raced side by side. Sergeant Stan 'Stone' Thornton, DAGGER Two, fired six rockets from the 'Hog's turret, destroying a Covenant Wraith. Lance Corporal 'Spectre' Griffin, DAGGER Three, fired from his shotgun as they passed nearby Covenant Infantry, while Alpha was driving the vehicle. In the other Warthog sat Lance Corporal Jane 'Eagle' Lake, DAGGER Four, who used her sniper in the side seat. Private First Class Dan 'Digit' North fiddled with his data pad while gunning down enemies with the machine gun turret; his multi-tasking skills were brilliant. Private Fred 'Tank' Stacker drove the Warthog. The vehicles leaped over a gap in the ground, and sped towards the Outpost. It was getting closer by the second. Jane focused in with her sniper scope as a needle hit her in the shoulder. She tried to find the source of the pink crystalline projectile. A few more needles hit and her energy shields cracked. A couple more shots and she was dead. She hastily looked around and finally found a Jackal sniper. She aimed and pulled the trigger. The bird-like creature's head exploded, splattering across the Sniper Nest's wall.

The two Warthogs halted at the Outpost. Barricades blocked their path, so DAGGER Team climbed out to proceed on foot. They met a line of plasma and needles, which missed as the soldiers ducked behind the barricades. Spectre jumped over the short purple wall to see some Elites and Grunts. They fired at him. He rolled out of the way and fired his shotgun. An Elite's chest was ripped to pieces and a Grunt's methane tank exploded, burning another Elite's shoulder plate. The tall, lanky alien raised his Beam Rifle and aimed for Spectre. It hit Spectre in the chest and he stumbled backwards. The rest of his team provided covering fire as he dodged more shots and finally held his shotgun up to the Elite's neck. "Can you understand me?" he asked. The Elite began to grumble before Spectre's MJOLNIR Armour's translation software kicked in. "I can understand you. Why won't you just kill me now?"

"I need your help." Said Spectre. "And you will help me."

"I would rather die than help a Demon." The Elite cursed. Spectre smacked it with the end of his shotgun. The Elite clutched his head. "You torture me, human, but do not kill me. Just kill me! I will never help a Demon like you!" Spectre shoved the shotgun into the alien's throat and pushed. It gargled and spluttered, before kicking Spectre. It had a chance to pick up a weapon. The Elite grabbed a beam rifle and fired. The rest of DAGGER Squad shot the Elite at once. The Elite became a mess of flesh and metal. The team proceeded into the Outpost.

The alarm had been signalled, and Grunt squads waddled down the ramps to kill the team. Tank threw some grenades to clear out the area and the Grunts were thrown against the walls by the explosion. Once the area was empty, DAGGER stormed up the spiralling ramp to the top, where an Elite stood, guarded by the gorilla-like Brutes. The Elite unsheathed its energy sword and charged as the Brutes fired their Brute Shots. The team dived, rolled and ducked as the explosives zipped over their heads. Eagle took out her Battle Rifle and picked off one of the Brutes. It fell to the ground with a thud. Spectre ran towards the other Brute but was smacked to the side. It roared and raised its gun, preparing to stab him with the bayonet. Alpha kicked the monster and helped Spectre up. The Brute got to its feet and charged once more. Its head exploded and Eagle lowered her weapon. She started stumbling and a bright blue blade appeared, protruding from her stomach. An Elite appeared behind her and lifted her into the air, then threw her to the side. The rest of the team opened fire and the Elite sprawled across the floor. Digit rushed over to Eagle and administered bio foam to her wound. Alpha went to the control panel and examined the array of holographic symbols. "Five, get over here." he said.

"But sir, Eagle needs to be healed quickly!" Digit pleaded.

"Three, you do it."

Spectre knelt beside Eagle and took the bio foam from Digit, who walked to the control panel. His hands moved around the jigsaw-like projections until he stopped. In the distance, the Cruiser's gravity lift activated.

Thom noticed Kat lying on the battlefield. He made his way over to her and looked down. He gently shook his head as he saw her bleeding, steaming arm and picked up the MFDD. Holding it in both hands, he turned to face the cruiser. The gravity lift appeared. He activated his jetpack and flew into the ring of purple light.

Thom emerged into the hangar of the Cruiser. Below him, an entire army of Covenant Ground soldiers waited for him. He looked at the timer on the bomb. 00:15. That wasn't good. He shrugged and threw the bomb into the centre of the space. As he began to make his exit, he was engulfed in flames.


End file.
